Govt Targets Poverty, Economic Shocks With Stronger Social Protection

The federal government has unveiled fresh measures to strengthen Nigeria’s social protection system and shield vulnerable families against poverty, economic shocks, displacement and other socio-economic challenges.

The permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Esuabana Asanye, disclosed this yesterday in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital.

Asanye spoke at the pre-summit of the 26th National Council on Women Affairs, Child Advancement and Social Development, attended by women across the state.

She said the federal government was committed to building a stronger social protection architecture capable of empowering women, supporting families and protecting children, while ensuring that vulnerable Nigerians are not left out under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

The permanent secretary called for urgent action to address the burden of unpaid care work, which she said was disproportionately shouldered by women and girls, limiting their opportunities in education, employment, entrepreneurship and leadership.

According to her, the government must recognise and reduce the burden of unpaid care work while simultaneously creating decent jobs within the care sector as part of efforts to make the economy more inclusive.

Asanye urged the federal, state and local governments to strengthen collaboration, improve funding for social welfare programmes and take care of services closer to vulnerable people at the grassroots.

She said, effective social protection would remain difficult without reliable data, and stressed that accurate information was needed to identify vulnerable populations, properly target interventions and improve government decision-making.

“Accurate and reliable data will help government make better decisions and ensure that social protection programmes reach the people who need them most,” she said.

Mrs. Asanye further called on stakeholders at the national and sub-national levels to move beyond policy formulation and ensure that programmes designed to protect vulnerable Nigerians translate into measurable improvements in their daily lives.

Giving an overview of the 26th National Council Meeting, the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics in the ministry, Mrs Amina Jalo, said the council would deliberate on critical policies and programmes, aimed at improving the welfare, protection and advancement of women and children.

Earlier, Taraba State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Child Development, Mrs Mary Sinjen, described the council meeting as a major opportunity for stakeholders to develop practical solutions to the challenges confronting women, children and vulnerable groups across the country.

Mrs. Sinjen said, bringing stakeholders together would promote experience-sharing, strengthen partnerships and facilitate the development of sustainable interventions capable of improving the lives of vulnerable people in communities.

The 26th National Council Meeting is being held under the theme: “Strengthening Families and Advancing the Care Economy for Inclusive Development: Operationalizing Nigeria’s Renewed Social Protection Architecture.”

The meeting is expected to conclude with resolutions, aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s social protection framework and improving interventions targeted at women, children, families and other vulnerable members of society.